Disney Abruptly Closes Pirates of the Caribbean Ride Sunday, Animatronics Collapse in Front of Guests
A sudden malfunction on Disneyland Resort’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride on Sunday, December 7, caused the attraction to temporarily shut down. Nearly all of the pirate audio-animatronics malfunctioned, resulting in many of the figures being stuck in position and causing an eerie, motionless ride for Disney Park guests.
Animatronics Freeze, Leaving Guests with Unusual Ride Experience
On Sunday, Disneyland Resort guests reported seeing several of the iconic animatronics frozen in place as they journeyed through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Videos and photos shared on social media showed the immobile characters, many of whom appeared slumped over.
In one video shared by u/Illustrious-Bar4100 on Reddit, the only animatronic still functioning properly was the key-holding dog:
Never seen this before lol
Never seen this before lol
byu/Illustrious-Bar4100 inDisneyland
Another Reddit user, u/RDV78, wrote: “Most of the Pirates are sleeping on the job today… About 90% of the animatronics were hunched over. Very eerie…”
Most of the Pirates are sleeping on the job today
byu/RDV78 inDisneyland
Power Outage Likely Behind Ride Malfunction
Several visitors speculated that a power issue at Disneyland Resort could have caused the malfunction. A few reported hearing that a power outage in Anaheim had affected multiple rides at Disney California Adventure Park, which could have also impacted Pirates of the Caribbean.
“In California Adventure right now and half the park is shut down,” said u/AstralDragon1979. “Someone in my party overheard others saying that there was some sort of electrical/power outage. Seems like complete speculation but it fits the observation that the park is cycling through attractions, keeping a significant portion offline to prevent a brownout or something.”
As soon as cast members were alerted to the malfunction, they stopped loading new guests onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
“They weren’t loading people on when we were exiting, so at least they became privy to it,” u/Illustrious-Bar4100 recalled.
Pirates of the Caribbean has since returned to normal operations, but it’s unclear how long the ride was offline before being reset. No public statement from Disneyland Resort has clarified the exact cause of the issue or how long it took to fix.
Have you ever witnessed a ride malfunction at Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park? Share your story with Disney Dining in the comments!
